


Overgrown

by xRaevyn



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Bullying, Childhood Trauma, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:54:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26644078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xRaevyn/pseuds/xRaevyn
Summary: Luz is hyper fixated on the haircut she so desperately needs. (A backstory drabble based off some minor personal trauma.)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 78





	Overgrown

**Author's Note:**

> TW: There is a mini altercation scene where Luz gets into a fight at her human school. If you're not comfortable with that, please don't read this fic. I wrote this as a means to convey a very specific feeling I know some people have involving short hair and trauma. This is not written to romanticize trauma but rather to give those people who have experienced this or something similar to this a feeling of belonging. It is okay to cut your hair in a time of crisis. It is okay to alter your appearance to feel more comfortable in your own skin. You matter. Your choices are valid. Your feelings are valid. You are loved and supported here. <3

The clanging thud in the kitchen had been more than enough to disturb King from his mid-afternoon slumber. The sun’s beams had crawled their way across the living room and pooled over the far end of the couch, an indication that there was plenty of time before dinner. This meant the audible bangs, clangs, thuds, thumps, and crashes could only mean one thing: a burglary was in progress and it was up to the King of Demons ™ to stop it! The small creature wiggled his furry little behind off the couch and skittered into the kitchen, practically colliding with the island in his own hasty hubris.

“Halt, Thief! Or prepare to face the wrath of the Ki—oh… Hi, Luz.” His voice fell to the floor like a bowling ball off a high shelf, heavy with disappointment. When Luz did not answer him immediately, he redirected his attention momentarily to the nearby stools and scrambled his way onto the counter. “What are you looking for?”

Luz hadn’t meant to ignore King’s presence, but she only had two hands to rummage with and both her eyes were fixated on the contents of the drawers in front of her. Her day had started off on the right foot. She’d packed a lunch so she could avoid the nameless monstrosities of Hexside's cafeteria's repertoire. She’d ensured that she had her textbooks for the day and that she neatly organized her homework in order of her schedule so she wouldn’t lose anything (any more than she already did, anyways. Though Luz blamed the demonic lockers for always chewing up what she needed.) She had even given King his morning besos before she left. But it was when Eda had ruffled her hair that she realized…

“Esta muy largo…” Luz mumbled, reaching for the back of her neck, probably for the millionth time that day. She ran her fingers through her hair and tugged a little. The tugging. No matter how many days, months, years had passed, she always remembered the tugging. “Muy, muy largo.”

“Girl, I have no idea what you just said.” King’s eyes furrowed, suggesting a frown. “You’ll have to elaborate.”

Luz didn’t answer, slamming another drawer shut with an aggravated groan. “Ugh. ¡No Está Aquí! ¿Te probé? No, miré aquí…. Yo también miré aquí. Hmm…”

She had rummaged through about half of the kitchen drawers in vain. The entire world narrowed to the marching of her own fingers through the messy half-mullet she was growing. Her brain felt like trench warfare.

~*~

This desperation was just another echo chamber, growing louder and louder against the memory. The first time she had asked her mother for a haircut. Begged for it, practically.

“¿Mami, cuándo fue la última vez que me llevaste a cortarme el pelo? I can’t remember.”

It was maybe six months after the incident.

“No lo sé, Mija. Why? Is it not growing back as fast as you’d like?” Camilia had asked.

Six months after she had landed in the principal’s office with the ’school’s sweetheart’, Bethany Chapman.

“Actually… I want to keep it short. Quizás más corto que este.”

Six months after she kicked Bethany in the shin and tackled her to the ground for stealing her signed, first edition Azura book during recess.

“¿Estas segura, Luz?” Camilia wore that signature flatline of a frown. “You’re not afraid of looking like a boy?”

Six months after Bethany wrestled her prized possession back out of her hands, yanking not just the book away, but a rather large clump of hair. Six months and Luz still felt that August sun pressed hard into the newly exposed patch of skin, burning and burning and burning into her scalp while her face was shoved further and further into the gravel—

“That’s… not what I’m afraid of, no.”

~*~

“Kiddo… Kiddo! Hey- Luz, what are you looking for?” Eda asked as she waved her hand in front of Luz’s face, hoping to break her attention for just a moment. She didn’t sound irritated in the least. The crease in her brow just a minor concern. “Maybe I can help.”

“¡Necesito tijeras! Tijeras... ti— ¿cómo se dice…?” She made a snipping motion with her hand repeatedly until the word came to her. “Scissors! I need scissors.”

“Sure, Kid. Anything for my star pupil.” Eda moved to the other side of the kitchen and pulled out another junk drawer, digging through it for a moment before she found them. “What’d’ya need these for? Homework? More shenanigans, ma—”

“I need a haircut.” Luz frowned. “Like… Right now.”

“… Take a seat, Luz. I’ll get the spray bottle.”

Luz tilted her head but sat down in one of the stools. “You’re not gonna tell m—”

“Kid, it’s your decision to look however you want to.” Eda gave Luz a smile that reminded her a lot of her mother. “I’m just here to support you with whatever you need.”

Luz tried not to tear up. Boy, howdy, did she miss her mom. “Y-yeah! Okay.”

After about half an hour of Eda trimming relentlessly to Luz’s specifications, (she had no formal training in this, that was for certain) the witch stepped away to admire her handiwork on the fresh pixie cut she’d given Luz. It was maybe about an inch towards the top and tapered down to a half-inch at the base. She had trimmed the split ends off Luz’s bangs but not by much either. All in all, it was not bad for not having any clippers.

“Wow, Eda!” Luz said as she admired herself in one of the many hand mirrors Eda had lying around in her junk drawers. “I bet you were a barber in another life.”

“Ha! Nah… I just picked up a thing or two from being on the run. You never know what’s looking to catch up with you,” Eda said as she patted Luz’s shoulder. “Feel better, Kiddo?”

Luz looked down at the bed of her disembodied hair that had formed small mounds on the floor. Eda was right about one thing. She certainly had needed to run from something. Her head felt much lighter now. Freed from the shackles of her hyper fixation. A smile rose from the corners of her mouth.

“Yeah… I feel like a yard that’s been mowed over.”

“Are you suggesting you grow like a weed?” Eda chuckled.

“Maybe.” Luz chuckled back. “My hair does, anyways.” She ran her fingers through her hair, a relaxing activity now that it was no longer a grabbable length. “Thank you, Eda. I was just… tired of being overgrown.”

Eda accepted the hug almost before it happened. She wrapped her arms around her pupil and gave her a small squeeze. “We all can be a little overgrown sometimes. There’s nothing wrong with asking for help pruning out the weeds.”

“You sure?” Luz asked. “Because what if—”

“Yeah, Kiddo. I’m sure.” Eda released Luz and made her way to the broom and dustpan she kept in the corner. “Now come on, Kid. You gotta help clean this up.”

“Yes, Ma’am!” Luz exclaimed. “I’m happy to help.”

“Me too, Kiddo.” Eda’s gaze softened as she watched her apprentice enthusiastically take the broom and hop to it with an unfathomable level of determination. “Me too…”


End file.
